If You Can Hear Thunder...

[Dolce27]

I recall the summer that I worked at Disney World on the CP. I worked at the Studios and a storm was moving in one day. I ran offstage and back to Wardrobe to grab my poncho from my locker. I was "stuck" back there for about ten minutes because of the lightening. I heard at least five lightening strikes hit the park from the back porch but when I returned onstage everyone was walking around like they didn't worry about lightening at Disney. I thought that they were nuts!

I learned quickly that summer to not mess with FL lightening. One of my co-workers was in a outdoor food shed just offstage and was zapped (for lack of better description). Fortunately it wasn't a direct hit and he was fine, just a bit shaken.

I had to laugh when reading someone's post on a website once about the Tower of Terror being struck by lightening during opening. TOT is struck by lightening all of the time. There's about a gazillion lightening rods on top of every building at Disney. Even the Mickey on top of Crossroads (when entering the Studios) is a lightening rod. This is why his head is tilted to the side, his ear is a lightening rod.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for the reminder, Peggy. Never can hear things like this too often, we all tend to think it happens to the 'other guy'.

Oh, and welcome to the DIS, angel.

 

[RabFlmom]

K, seriously not trying to start anything, but honestly curious. Why not a shower? I am a Kansas girl and live in Tornado alley but I am not familiar with this. Can someone please let me know the reason for that? TIA

Lightning runs when it hits metal and a lot of our pipes are above ground or very shallowly buried in Florida, so you do not take showers in bad lightning.

We had a pine get hit in our neighbors yard. The tree 's root system which is a shallow root system for such tall trees must have grown under our house. Walking across the floor we felt the current and it blew out our wiring.

Personally, I think Feralpeg's advice was good advice to share. Most people don't run indoors till the raindrops fall, but most people who are hit by lightning have already died or been injured by that time. Yes, the numbers of death by lightning are low, but why chance adding to the number. If 1 single person didn't realize it was a possibility of getting hit by lightning from a storm miles away and they read this advice, then it is worth the posting. At Busch Gardens during lightning storms they even play a song over the PA telling people to get indoors when the sky's boom.

 

[kmvand1]

Lightening strike is not that big of a threat. You can get struck sitting indoors as well. Stop fear mongering. A lot of people on here are already nervous enough. Don't stand outside near or holding metal. That's the advice.

This topic is just very condescending in general. Are we third graders?

WOW! We just returned from 10 days in Clearwater and had storms about three of those days. I was amazed at the fools still walking the beach or in the pool. At one point, the hostess to the restaurant had to come out and tell some children, who were with their parents, to get OUT of the pool!?!?

 

[Pembo]

We were recently at the MK when a NASTY storm rolled through. The lightning was beautiful to watch from INSIDE Cosmic Rays....We couldn't believe the number of people running through the park in the torrential rain and lightning. We sat in Cosmic Rays with relatively few other people for maybe 30 mins until the storm passed and the rain slowed.

The park was very empty, the moon came out and we saw Wishes with a small crowd and then walked on rides. My kids were thrilled to walk on BTMRR and Splash with no wait.

I'm not sure where those people were running to in the storm....There were plenty of seats where we were...

 

[RMulieri]

Lightening strike is not that big of a threat. You can get struck sitting indoors as well. Stop fear mongering. A lot of people on here are already nervous enough. Don't stand outside near or holding metal. That's the advice.

This topic is just very condescending in general. Are we third graders?

Feralpeg was trying to be helpful, which is kind of in the spirit of the disboards...Maybe we need some pixie dust

 

[RMulieri]

I just did a quick Google search and A LOT of sites say to avoid showering when there's lightning... I even found a couple of news articles about people getting struck while in the shower

A neighbor teen down my street had just turned the faucet on during an electrical storm.Lightning struck the ground and conducted thru the water.He got a BAD shock from the faucet and a burn...It is rare and it does happen

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

Well I for one appreciate being 'warned' what to expect. Coming from the UK a Florida storm will be new to us, our first visit was in October 2007 and we hardly even saw rain but we will be back over there in a couple of weeks and are expecting to see some thunderstorms. We had a 17 year old boy killed by lightening just a few miles from us a couple of weeks ago, he was playing cricket and hid under a treethat's the one thing I always tell my boys if they happen to be out during a storm ' don't go near trees'.

 

[ChristusG]

EXCELLENT reminder! I'm here in FL too (north FL) I'm amazed at the sheer number of people who completely ignore thunder and lightning. The other day there was a bad storm approaching and the lightning was getting very close. I saw a guy outside still mowing the grass, completely unconcerned! I take nature seriously...she can be pretty dangerous sometimes. I do not take showers or talk on land line phones during a storm. I also stay away from windows. I know one person who was standing in front of a window during a thunderstorm and got struck and thrown backwards. Thankfully, she's okay. I know another person who was talking on a landline phone during a storm....they were thrown across the room. Thankfully, they are okay as well. But it DOES happen. And more often than you think.

 

[PrincessMama605]

I learned something new reading this thread, I didn't know that you shouldn't use the water or shower during a t-storm.

Living in FL, I am aware of the dangers of lightning, but a reminder never hurts. Thanks, OP.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

K, seriously not trying to start anything, but honestly curious. Why not a shower? I am a Kansas girl and live in Tornado alley but I am not familiar with this. Can someone please let me know the reason for that? TIA

Im a KS girl too, and have always heard it.

 

[jdcthree]

Good reminder! My Dad, the weather fanatic, would love this thread. When I was growing up he would never let anyone in our house take a bath or shower during a storm, and as an adult I decided I didn't really care if the storm wasn't too bad. After reading this thread I don't think I will ever do it again, lol!

 

[JimR24]

Lightening strike is not that big of a threat. You can get struck sitting indoors as well. Stop fear mongering. A lot of people on here are already nervous enough. Don't stand outside near or holding metal. That's the advice.

This topic is just very condescending in general. Are we third graders?

This just happened this past weekend. The reports I have heard said the storm was a few miles away when this happened.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20090704/NEWS/907055039

The OP is right on the money. I live down here and don't mess with storms.

 

[Jennifer815]

Another thank you to the OP for the reminder. I am always amazed at the number of people who think it's OK, even fun, to run around outside during a storm at WDW.

I know there are a ton of lightning rods, but I for one have no interest in taking that kind of chance. I stay safely inside until it passes, however long that may be (much to the consternation of some of my friends at times).

 

[lessit]

I learned something new reading this thread, I didn't know that you shouldn't use the water or shower during a t-storm.

Not necessarily true. Many houses now use PEX (plastic) water tubing in them.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Better to be safe - lightning storms don't (generally) last for hours and hours. A shower can be delayed until that part of a storm moves on.

FeralPeg, thank you for posting. I think lightning's afraid to hit the ground up here so it's good to be reminded of possible danger.

To the critics in this thread: thunder/lightning storms are possible everywhere. Even though the post appears on the TPA&S forum, it doesn't hurt to remind everyone.

 

[ShannonMB]

Huh! I live in Ohio, where we definitely have our fair share of lightning storms in the summer, but I've never thought about it much. I have even been guilty of letting DD stay in the pool if I saw a storm a ways off in the distance. I might have to rethink the whole thing, a little more caution sounds in order. I appreciate the info (and about most things, I'm pretty far ahead of a 3rd grader).

Thanks for the info, folks! This kind of knowledge is never a bad thing!!!

 

[PinkBudgie]

Another thanks for the heads up. I live in CA and I can't remember the last time we had a thunder storm. It has been several years and is rather rare where I live. I don't really know much about except not to stand out in a field where you are the tallest thing. I wouldn't have guessed you couldn't walk outside around buildings somewhere like WDW. It would be like someone coming here and not knowing what to do during an earthquake.
So, thanks!

 

[WDSearcher]

Okay, I'm sorry I started this thread. I thought I was being helpful. WDW does have a lot of lightening rods, but I can tell for a fact that things still get hit by lightening on WDW property. Good grief!

I think your heart is in the right place, but this is a very misleading thread. If you had accompanied it by some facts about how many people are hit by lightning at WDW or in the WDW area each year, it would mean something. But to simply put it out there as a "warning" to people -- without letting them know what the actual danger IS -- is misleading.

I mean ... are you advocating that, when vacationing at WDW, every single person should seek cover the second they hear thunder and stay under that cover for 20 minutes? I don't see how that could even happen, based on the outside vs. inside space capabilities of the parks. Are you saying that Main Street and the Epcot promenade should clear instantly and everyone go inside the shops and restaurants? It would be chaos. It's simply not possible, practical or necessary.

I live in Central Florida too, and read the piece over the weekend about the person struck and killed at the church picnic. But to tell everyone to not be outside when you hear thunder because this event happened is like telling people not to ride the monorail because of the recent accident. Or to not fly because a plane crashed on the way from Brazil to France. Or to not drive because there was a multi-car crash on the 408 over the weekend. It's not practical advice, however well-meant.

 

[loriandmatt]

a close friend who relocated from new jersey to central florida once told me that after a few years of living in florida she came to respect 3 things.....

snakes
wind
lightning

they have all 3 of these things in jersey, but they are just on a totally different level that deserves more attention and respect when living in florida.